


Promised on a Hat

by Foilfreak



Series: A Family in all but Heritage: Why the Blood of the Covenent runs thicker than the Water of the Womb [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Son, Adoption, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, adorable child shanks, child shanks, good dad Roger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28078683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foilfreak/pseuds/Foilfreak
Summary: Gol D. Roger had been to many ports over his lifetime as a pirate. All of them were different, and yet the same. They had different foods, but they all had food stalls. Different people, but they were always merchants, marines, prostitutes, other pirates, and so on. The ‘flavor’ of each port was different, but it was still a port. And Roger loved it. Loved to see each new port. To explore it and see what it had to offer. Roger even had ports that he loved to visit because of something or someone there. This particular port didn’t have such a thing. Yet.Alternatively titled: “Hey look, free kid!”
Relationships: Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks & Gol D. Roger
Series: A Family in all but Heritage: Why the Blood of the Covenent runs thicker than the Water of the Womb [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1356013
Comments: 26
Kudos: 87





	1. An Old Home

**Author's Note:**

> Arrivederci my good bitches! If this is the first time you are stumbling upon the trash heap that is my AO3 account, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Foilfreak, and I am known across the internet for writing some of the most outrageously self-indulgent works of literature that mankind has been unfortunate enough to have to read. Today’s steaming pile of self-gratifying heathenry is brought to you by the extensive AU that Dragowolf helped me create and is slowly but surely becoming consuming me from the inside out. However, today’s segment in the ever growing monster I’ve created is a little bit different compared to the previous ones, and that is because this fic was actually written by my dear friend Dragowolf. Yup that’s right, I’ve started outsourcing writing fics for this AU to my co-creator because if i were to have to write them all myself i would literally never finish with this series (tbh i might still never finish with this series but imma get as close as physically possible dammit). So everyone bask in the glory and beauty that is Dragowolf’s writing and make sure you leave lots of kudos and comments saying how much you loved this because she worked very hard on it and she deserves all the love and praise in the world for putting up with my crazy ass on a daily basis. Enjoy!!! <3
> 
> P.S. A note from the dragon queen herself: “A lot of the pirate traditions are made from FoilFreak and me having way too much fun, and many are inspired by many discussions on Stereden’s discord with all the wonderful, creative people there.”

Gol D. Roger had been to many ports over his lifetime as a pirate. All of them were different, and yet the same. They had different foods, but they all had food stalls. Different people, but they were always merchants, marines, prostitutes, other pirates, and so on. The ‘flavor’ of each port was different, but it was still a port. And Roger loved it. Loved to see each new port. To explore it and see what it had to offer. Roger even had ports that he loved to visit because of something or someone there. This particular port didn’t have such a thing. Yet. 

It was a port his crew had visited once before, but it was completely different now, almost unrecognizable, compared to the last time they were here. That made it special. It was a chance to explore and see new things, to find out all over again what made this port special and unique. 

And find out what food they had to offer, of course. How long had it been since breakfast?

Roger hummed to himself as he walked down various alleyways. He pulled his hat low to keep the sun out of his eyes, even if it did little to disguise who he was. Who would have thought that a straw hat would make a person stand out so much? You’d think it would be his red coat or his signature mustache. 

Then again, it was a rather good hat. 

Roger continued to follow his nose, trying to find some food, but at one point he had taken a wrong turn, quickly finding himself in the back alleyways where the trash was kept. Not much for him to eat, but apparently the same could not be said for someone else. 

Roger hadn’t noticed it at first, but upon closer inspection he notices a flash of red bobbing around in the trash. Despite the dull tinge, the red stood out, much like his red coat, and Roger was both surprised and yet not surprised to see that the red was hair, and not only that, but hair that was attached to the head of a small child. 

It was a sad reality, but the world was absolutely filled with those who didn’t have enough to support themselves. It made Roger’s heart ache to see someone so young rifling through heaps of garbage for their next meal. Heavens above the kid didn't even look all that old. Less than 5, maybe? It was always hard to tell when they were that small.

Roger watched for a time as the little kid dug through the rubbish. Digging and digging and digging some more for whatever scraps of food he could find. Occasionally he found something and stuffed it into his mouth, grimacing at the foul taste, before continuing on with his search. 

Roger slowly made his way over to the kid. He couldn’t pass this by. He couldn’t. 

“Hey, kid. Are you hungry?” Roger called softly, bending down to be at eye level with the kid, so as not to scare him.

  
  
Startled, the red headed child jumped and turned to look at Roger, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared up at the older man. 

Shit. He was young. Look at those big, innocent eyes. Big, innocent, curious eyes that certainly didn’t belong rummaging around in a garbage can. 

Roger couldn’t hold back his grin. “Hungry? No kid should have to dig through trash for food. Look” Roger pulled an apple, his emergency snack, from his coat pocket and offered it out to the boy. 

“Here eat this. It will taste better than anything you can find in there.” 

The kid gave the biggest grin and reached for the apple only to stop just before he reached it. A conflicted look on his face. Who knew kids could be so expressive? 

Roger coaxed “It’s ok. It’s all for you. Here.” Roger gently sets it on the ground and takes a step back. 

The kid looks at the apple then at Roger. Roger expected more hesitation, but instead the kid grinned and toddled over to the apple, plopping down on the ground to start munching on it. Roger chuckled. Kid was hungry. Looked like he was going to make quick work of the apple. 

What seemed like seconds later, but was actually minutes, the kid had finished the apple and was now staring at Roger with a curious expression. 

Roger tilted his head “What are you looking at?” 

The kid tilted his head to the side before toddling over to him, making a grab for his coat. A wide grin spread across his face as he began exploring the large overcoat. 

Roger laughed “Oooh noticed my coat did ya? Well of course you did. It’s a fine red coat. At least you have some sense, lots of others don’t have a lick of it, not noticing a fine coat like this. But you do, little one, don’t ya?” Roger grinned as the little kid looked up at him and beamed. He then proceeded to go back to exploring his coat, any part of it in his reach was examined, tugged, and touched. 

Roger just watched. The kid seemed to be enjoying himself. 

He couldn’t explain why, but Roger liked this kid. The kid’s Voice sounded so curious and innocent. So friendly. Roger had no idea how a kid who clearly struggled a great deal in life, having to look for food in the trash, could be so open and trusting. 

Roger didn’t want to leave the kid. He couldn’t quite explain the reasoning behind it, but he wanted to stay near the kid. 

Slowly Roger reached into his coat pocket, but the kid seemed to notice and watched carefully, his curious gaze slipping to a more cautious one for a moment, as his hand pulled out a water bottle. Caution disappearing faster than it arrived, the kid happily reached his hands out for it, his eyes suddenly growing wide and sparkly. Roger could only laugh.

“Well shit kid. No need to beg for it. It’s all yours.” 

The water bottle was a little hard for the kid to hold by himself due to his small hands, but he managed with just the smallest bit of help. 

With the small boy thoroughly distracted, Roger took the chance to take a really close look at him. Contrary to how dirty the kid’s clothes and hair were, his face and skin were actually fairly clean. He also looked a little on the thin side, but not terrible considering the state of most orphans. Overall, it looked like someone was looking after the kid. But if that was the case, where was the kid’s minder? 

Roger hummed “You have somebody looking after you? Did you wander away from them when they weren’t looking?”

  
  
The little boy smiled, having finished his water, but did not respond to Roger’s questions. Little droplets dribbled down his chin and Roger chuckled as he wiped them away. “Messy eater huh kid?”

  
  
Once again Roger didn’t get an answer. He briefly wondered if the kid was mute, or maybe he was still too young to talk? When do kids start talking again? 

The little boy, seemingly satisfied with his meal and the water, wandered back to the trash heap and started digging again. 

Roger raised an eyebrow “Now what are you digging for, huh? Still hungry?” 

The kid’s Voice didn’t sound like he was still hungry. Just curious. And full of expectation? Almost like he was digging… for buried treasure. This proved true just seconds later when the kid grinned wide and let out a happy shriek. Roger couldn’t tell what the kid had pulled out from his position but the kid looked so happy with his find. 

Apparently his treasure was deemed worthy enough to share, and so the kid came over to Roger holding up his find for the older man to see. 

“What have you got there kiddo? Some treasure?” Roger chuckled as the boy excitedly toddled over to him. 

Roger finally got the hint that the kid wanted him to take the treasure after the kid bumped his hand with the find several times. Roger didn’t examine the thing too closely, instead watching the kid go back to the trash heap and start digging again. After a few moments, Roger was handed another find. And a few moments later another. And then another. And then one more.

Roger wasn’t sure if he would consider the scraps of trash the kid was handing him to be treasure, but he seemed so happy to hand him the thing he found and his voice sang with so much joy whenever Roger talked to him or praised his finds. Who would Roger be to rain on the kid’s parade.

This routine continued on for a while, and Roger made no move to try and stop it. Truthfully he had no idea what was happening. None whatsoever. But he did know one thing, and it was that this kid was a treasure, a real treasure that Roger would be an absolute fool to leave behind to rummage around in trash cans for the rest of his life. 

Before Roger got himself too attached however, he needed to find out if this little boy had a family or if Roger would soon be explaining to Rayleigh why there was a kid joining them. 

Eventually it seemed the trash had no more treasure to be found, or perhaps the boy merely lost interest. It was hard to say. Either way, the kid went from digging in the trash back to exploring Roger, but not just his coat this time. The boy explored his laces, which lead to him untying them, Roger retying them, the kid pulling on them, Roger fixing them, and repeating this cycle for some time. 

This turned into a game where the kid would pull them, Roger would retie them to the sound of the kid giggling, and then the kid would pull them undone again. Roger didn’t realize that children’s laughs were contagious. The little twirp was having fun if the mischievous grin was anything to go by. When the laces lost their appeal, Roger’s hand became the next item of fascination. Though there was a narrow window when the boy made a grab for Roger’s knife boot. “Oooh no you don’t kid. Knives are not for little boys like you. Nope.” Roger thinks him gently pushing the kid away from the knife might have led to the boy exploring his hand but Roger wasn’t sure. After the kid had the cuteness pout. Are kids suppose to be this cute? Because this little boy is adorable.  
  


Suddenly from down the street Roger hears someone call out to him. “Hey Sailor man, why don’t you leave the boy alone and Come enjoy yur time with me?” 

Roger looks up in the direction of the voice and immediately notices two things. One, that it was much later than he realized. And second, that a pretty girl was making her way towards him and the kid, and at a pretty fast clip too. 

Once she got closer, she flashed him a smile that he’d seen on many a whore, and the sight made Roger feel ill. No kid should know that kind of smile, or be so well versed in it. For such a young girl, she was very skilled at fluttering her eyes and giving him a lustful smile. 

She has the same thin look about her as that the boy does. The same red hair too, but slightly cleaner. Much like the young boy, she also wore clothes that might have seen better days, but were not in horrible condition. Still closer to rags than anything else. 

Roger grins at her, returning none of her lust at all, “Thanks for the offer, but you look a little too young for me.”  
  


The prostitute coos softly to him, swaying her hips, rolling her back to push her chest and then her hips forward, “How can you say that sir? Come with me and I’ll show you just how wonderful my youth can be.”

Roger shakes his head and turns back to the red haired boy “Kid? What’s your name?” 

  
The little boy tilts his head and pulls on the laces again, not responding to his question. Roger dutifully ties the laces up to the giggles of the small boy. Apparently his laces were interesting again. 

Roger’s haki could hear how tense the girl’s Voice was. She didn’t like him so close to the kid. In fact she wanted him away from the little boy as quickly as possible. But why? 

The girl, her voice less flirty and more nervous said, “He don’t speak with strangers. ‘Sepcially not men. Knows better, don’t ya sweety?” 

She grins at the boy, and the boy returns the same smile. The exact same smile. The boy’s Voice… it called to her. And the girl’s Voice seemed to call to the kid. 

Roger watches the exchange, his mind drawing conclusions. Sad conclusions. She can’t even be 18. How young was she when she gave birth? 

“How old’s the kid?”

  
To Roger’s relief the girl drops her prostitute act. Her expression changed from flirty to angry and anxious. Her shoulders tense, her eyes hardening. 

“He’s as old as he is.”

  
  
“And that is?”

  
  
“How the fuck should I know? 3 maybe? But he ain’t on the market.” She quips shortly, but her anger quickly shifts back to flirtation, the flirty, lustful smile returning as she tilts her head innocently. “But I am. And more than willing.” 

Roger knows there are young prostitutes out there but it still disgusts him. Kids are innocents. They should be protected. Not out on the streets like this girl and boy.

  
  
Roger nods. He’s made up his mind. Really, it had been made up some time ago, he’d just been lollygagging around. He looks down at the little boy and gives him a wide grin before turning back to the young girl. 

“Where are his parents? Little kids like this usually have their parents close by.” Roger asks, knowing the answer already. 

Roger is not really surprised when the young girl growls at him, with all the experience of one used to the street. “Sailor ya keep poking ya nose where it don’t belong.”

  
  
Roger chuckles, completely at ease. “Have you been talking to my first mate? He’s alway tells me that.”

  
  
The girl bristles and sneers, “Oie if yur not going to be buying then why you here? Thinking of adopting the kid?” She said sarcastically, clearly meaning it as a joke. Roger can hear in her Voice that she expects him to leave, or shove off after such a suggestion. It was a way to make him leave if it wasn’t going to put coin in her purse.  
  


Little does the girl know, Roger was going to do just that. 

“Yep!” He says cheerfully, flashing the girl a wide grin.

The girl’s eyes widen, taken aback by the blunt answer at first, before laughing harshly. “Oh really? Going to adopt a little kid off the street? Just one you find? And what? Have known for all of 10 minutes? Going to do it to all of them? Should I be calling the Marines?” 

Her Voice was angry, but it was also scared. Worried. Trying to figure out who to get the strange sailor away from the boy. 

Roger would admit the girl was a good actor. Without observation haki it would have been damn near impossible to tell what this girl was thinking.

  
  
Roger nods, all smiles but his Voice and eyes full of resolve and determination. 

“I’m adopting this kid. Don’t call the Marines. While I love a good fight, my crew is not ready to be running from the port quite yet. And this little guy doesn’t need to be exposed to a fight just yet.” Roger added thoughtfully. “Hasn’t learned to dodge yet.”

  
  
The girl dropped all pretense of trying to get the sailor away from the boy. She couldn’t take him in a fight and they both knew it, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying to scare him away. 

Fear and anger made her shoulders shake as she spoke. “Oh adopting him are ya? And what? Take care of him? Taking care of a kid ain’t easy! It’s a lot of work! I bet ya don’t know the first think abou-” 

The girl froze when Roger looked her in the eye. She wasn’t able to explain the look he gave her. It was pity, but not the kind most of the townsfolk gave her, the ones that held disgust and contempt with them as well. This man’s gaze held understanding, acceptance. 

A part of her buried deep, felt soothed when the sailor gently said “I know.”

  
  
She wouldn’t cry. Not here, not now. Tears would do her no good, so she lashed out. “Think ya can just come in and pick up some kid off the streets and raise him as yur own, huh? Why should you be trusted with a child? Yer just a sailor!”

  
  
“What if I promised to take care of him?” Roger asked thoughtfully.

  
  
“HA! Promises are just words. And words are dripping in lies. Especially the words of a man,” she hissed.

  
  
Roger watched the girl thoughtfully, “What if I swore on my hat?” 

“Your hat?” The woman blinks in confusion and disbelief, “What good is swearing on a crummy old hat?”

  
  
Roger smiles and touches the strawhat at the top of his head “This hat means a lot to me. If I swear by it, I will keep my promise.”

  
  
The girl laughs, and sneers at him, her eyes full of hate, anger, fear, and more emotions than Roger could ever hope to name “Maybe if ya swore by that Davy Jones guy you sailors are always going on about. But even then I bet you’d break that promise!”

  
  
Roger streightend and gave the girl a hard, serious look. Their eyes locked and she was trapped by the intensity of his gaze. If she could move she would step back, but she was paralyzed under the weight of those eyes. 

“No sailor who wants to live will break an oath sworn in Davy Jones’ name. And any sailor who does… they don’t live long to tell the tale” Roger said cooly, his voice holding no sarcasm or humor. He was being totally serious.

  
  
The girl and Roger stared each other down, and despite what she wanted to believe, she ultimately knew he spoke the truth. This was a sailor of the “Old Way”, the ones she’d heard about who were much, much more than just everyday men or petty criminals who happened to get around by boat. It’s said that sailors of the “Old Way” dedicated their entire lives to the sea, and their very souls to Davy Jones, the collector of souls and ferryman to the afterlife. 

According to what she’d heard, apparently sailors who followed the “Old Way” were few and far in between nowadays, but not all gone and extinct like many seemed to believe. The young girl didn’t know much more about the “Old Way”, but from what information she could gather, the general consensus was that you a) avoid causing a ruckus with them at all costs, and b) never question them when they make a promise in the name of Davy Jones. 

The fact that she’s already done both of those things is not lost on the young girl.

Licking her lips, it takes her a second to get out words, but where she expected words to tell him to shove it, instead flowed “Alright then. Swear. Swear by Davy Jones, Sailor. And.. And your hat! Swear that you’ll take care of Shanks!”

Roger perked up. “Shanks? So his name is Shanks, then” he says, looking down at the young boy for a moment before returning his gaze to the young girl.

“Very well. I swear. I swear in the name of Davy Jones, he who ferries souls. I swear by his name and deeds that I will take care of Shanks for all his days. I will keep him and raise him as though he were my own flesh and blood. I shall teach him the way of the sea and sword. The way of the wind and waves. I will be his Captain and Father, and he shall be my Son and Apprentice. By the Ways of Old, I swear this promise in the name of Davy Jones, and on this straw hat of mine. This boy is now mine, and I will treasure him always. Both in this world, and the next one.” 

With the last word spoken, Roger takes off his hat and puts it on Shanks’ head with a gravity and ceremony that should seem out of place for their current location. 

Shanks was surprised by the sudden thing on his head as it slid down, covering his eyes. He reached up to pull at it, but he didn’t take it off. Roger smiled at the boy, but his full attention remained on the girl. Her Voice was a mess of emotion and yet silent in shock at the same time. In that moment Roger misses the girl’s eyes mist over as tears collect in her eyes as well as the moment her shoulders slumped in acceptance, but he doesn’t miss the gust of wind and the accompanying shiver that races up his spine. 

Davy Jones has heard his promise. And he plans on holding him to it.

  
  
Rubbing at her eyes, the girl gives Roger a hard look that could only be described as one of a mother’s determination. “I believe you Sailor. Take care of the boy, or the hat is mine, and Davy Jones will be the least of your problems.” 

She looks at Shanks, still at Roger’s side. Shanks grins widely up at the girl, and takes a step towards her, only to stop when she shakes her head. “No Shanks. You go with him now. Be good. You’ll do well.” 

She reaches out to stroke his hair, treading her fingers through it gently before pulling her hand back. She pushes Shanks towards Roger, and despite his initial confusion, the boy doesn’t seem to need much more encouragement to go towards the interesting man.

  
  
Roger watches this scene and hears the pain is the girl’s Voice, as well as her resolve. So young, yet so strong.

Reaching into a pocket, he pulls something out. Gently he takes the girl’s hands, and places the item in her grasp. “I will take care of him. Now take care of yourself. Shanks is in good hands.”

Roger releases her hand before picking Shanks up and walking away. 

The girl stands rooted in her spot as she watches them go, clutching the bag of gold Roger had given her. She doesn’t understand why this has happened, but she knows that Shanks will have a much, much better life in the hands of that sailor than he ever would with her. So much better. And with the bag of gold in her hands, now so will she. 

Tears streamed down the girl’s face as she turned to the darkening sky and prayed, for the first time in a long time, to someone, anyone, who would listen to her desperate pleas. 

‘Please forgive me, Spirits. I know he was your gift to me… but I’m so tired… I wouldn’t have been able to keep this up for much longer. Please let the man who took him be good and honorable. Please let Shanks have better now. Please let him have the life I never could have given him. I beg of you... Please….’ The girl sobs silently to herself as she turns and, without looking back, walks away. Away from the docks. Away from the brothel. Away from the hard, cruel life she’d led here until now. But not from the memory of Shanks or the kind sailor who’d unknowingly set her free. 

The dirt path is blurred by her tears, but her future is brighter than it's ever been. 

Roger watches her go with his observational haki, while the boy watches her go over Roger’s shoulder, his eyes filled with confusion and sadness. 

Roger gently rubs Shanks’ back. “Don’t worry kiddo, she'll be fine. And now so will you” he says with a gentle smile, which quickly widens as the docks come into view.

“Just wait till you meet the rest of my crew!” Roger says excitedly, watching as Shanks’ gaze shifts to the large vessels that line the docs. “They are going to love you.” 

As Roger told Shanks all about the crew and his new home, Roger watched over the girl until she reached the very edge of his observational haki. 

He did what he could for the girl. Now he has a promise to keep. 

And keep it he would.


	2. A New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter. Enjoy!

"Hey, Rayleigh.... how long has the captain been gone for?" Scopper asks slowly, his voice laced with confusion, and maybe the slightest hint of disbelief.

"Few hours. Said he wanted to go explore the port and get something to eat." Rayleigh replied, not looking up from the paperwork he was going over. Trying to make sure they had enough food to sustain the crew, and booze to appease their captain, until their next stop always took so much paperwork… and math. Rayleigh had never enjoyed math very much, so it was rather ironic that his current role as vice captain required him to do so much of it. He was definitely going to need a drink after this.

"Have we ever been to this town before?" Asks Kelly, who Rayleigh assumes must be standing next to Scopper given the proximity of their voices. 

The first mate hums in consideration but doesn’t look up from his paperwork just yet. "About… 4, maybe 5 years ago, I think. Why?" 

"Does that kid look 5 to you?" 

"Kid?" Rayleigh repeats in confusion, finally looking up at the two men who appear to be looking at something out toward port with equally confused looks on their faces. His gaze follows the direction of where the second mate and gunman are looking before finally landing on the familiar form of his captain and best friend, walking towards the ship with an almost obnoxious spring in his step, the raven haired man’s iconic straw hat sitting loosely upon the far too small head of the literal child Roger had cradled gently in his arms.

Rayleigh stares, mouth practically to the floor at this point, in utter disbelief for a moment, unable to take his eyes off Roger or the kid, er… toddler maybe, who was looking intently at something over Roger’s shoulder. 

After his brief moment of stupefaction, Rayleigh shakes his head and turns his attention away from the incoming clusterfuck he subconsciously knows Roger is about to unleash upon the rest of his crew. "Hey Wilson! How old is that kid do you think?" Rayleigh calls over to the ship’s cook, who turns from the pile of vegetables he was inspecting at the mention of his name. 

"Kid?" Wilson blinks in confusion, parroting the very question Rayleigh had muttered a moment ago, before his eyes settle on the sight that the other three men were ogling at. "What the…? Why by the Mother Spirit's blue earth does the Captain have a kid? Where the hell did he get a kid from? Are we about to add kidnapping to our list o’ crimes now? I’m not sure how I feel abou’ that one.”

"Not sure. Previous question." Rayleigh says, steering the conversation back toward his question.

Wilson looks thoughtfully at the small body in Roger’s arms for a moment before responding. "5 at the absolute oldes’, I’d say… though given his size he migh’ be closer to 3 or 4. ‘S a bit hard to tell fer sure ‘til ye hear ‘em talk." 

Rayleigh nods, falling silent as his brain begins reeling over the plethora of different reasons why Roger could possibly have a child in his possession, as well as whether or not that reason was going to necessitate them getting the absolute fuck out of here.

"Right, ok, so ummm... my math isn't the greatest, and I wasn’t around 5 years ago when you guys last came to this island, so I can’t really say anything for certain, but given the evidence we’re looking at, I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume we’re all thinking the same thing here?” Kelly asks, his gaze shifting between the other men as he gauges their reaction to his question.

Rayleigh exchanges glances with Scopper and Wilson, who mirrored his slightly confused expression. "Maybe, but there’s only one way to find out for certain" he says, turning his attention toward Roger as the raven haired man walks up the gangplank. Best to ask the source directly because guessing what Roger is doing or thinking is not alway straight forward. 

"Roger!” Rayleigh yells. “The hell’s up with the kid?" 

At the sound of Rayleigh's voice the kid snaps forward to look at him, Roger’s straw hat nearly flying off his little head as big sparkly eyes stare intensely at Rayleigh and the other men. 

Roger grinned as he adjusted the kid in his arms. "Shanks, this is my first mate, Rayleigh. Ray, this is Shanks. He's mine to protect and guard." 

Rayleigh opens his mouth to ask what the fuck Roger is talking about but stiffens and falls silent once his brain registers Roger’s undeniable use of the Formal Words. Those words… Roger didn’t… he wouldn’t… would he?

"Roger, what are you…?" 

"I Promised Ray." 

Even without the intense look Roger was leveling him with, Rayleigh knew that level of seriousness in his captain’s voice, knew that, whatever the hell Roger had done, whatever he had promised, it wasn’t an idle one, nor was it one that Roger, as heavily traditional as he was, would break in his right mind. Roger hadn’t made some silly little promise he didn’t intend to keep, no, he’d made a Promise, a Promise sworn in the Old Way, in the Way of the Seas. Any and all attempts to shoot down whatever crackheaded plan Roger had cooked up this time died on Rayleigh’s tongue as the first mate came to the final conclusion that any man who followed the Old Ways would if presented with this same situation. 

Roger had made a Promise, and that meant Davy Jones was involved. When someone promises something in the name of Davy Jones, well, one kept their word… or else. 

Everyone looked at Rayleigh with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty when the first mate sighed audibly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his right hand as he questioned why the hell he put up with Roger and his unpredictable ways.

“Alright you crazy son of a bitch,” Rayleigh says, looking back up at his captain with a mixture of fondness and incredulousness, “What exactly did you promise?”   
  
Roger grinned and hugged Shanks close, turning the boy around in his arms as though to show him off to the other men. “Why, to keep and raise this little tyke as my own, of course! To teach him the Ways of the Seas and turn him into a fine young pirate the likes of which the world has never seen! Everyone!” Roger called loudly, startling the little boy who’d been distracted looking around at the sea of new people. “Listen up you lot! This here is Shanks! He is my son and our apprentice. As a crew we must teach him the Way of the Seas. And conversely...” 

Roger trails off for a brief moment, turning to the small boy in his arms, “Shanks, this is your new family. We are your nakama, and you are our apprentice to teach and watch over.”    
  


Realization among the rest of the crew was instant, upon hearing those words. They weren’t fancy by any means, nor did they necessarily follow any kind of script, but then again they didn’t have to, after all pirates weren’t particularly fancy people once you got past the love of gold and jewels. However, any pirate who had an ounce of knowledge of the Old Ways would be able to tell that these were Important Words, ones that signaled the Promise made between a Captain, a Crew, and their Apprentices. 

Pirates who still bothered to follow the Old Ways knew that when an apprentice was brought onto the ship, it was not just the Captain or First Mate who taught them, but rather the entire Crew. It didn’t matter if you had the best ship filled to the brim with the strongest men the world has to offer, if the Crew and Captain didn’t work together then a Ship was lost. This ideal still applied rather heavily when it came to the raising and training of apprentices, who would go on to either make or break the next generation of pirates. So it was not just Captain Gol D. Roger who would be teaching and protecting Shanks, but all the Roger pirates, so long as the little boy sailed beneath their flag. 

Rayleigh knew this and sighed again, shaking his head with a ruffly smile, “Alright boys, you heard your Captain. Shanks is now an Apprentice of the Roger Pirates. Let’s meet him.”    
  
Roger excitedly set Shanks down on the ground, beaming like a proud Papa as the rest of the crew slowly abandoned what they had been doing previously and gathered around to introduce themselves to their new charge, some of them with excitement and curiosity, others with apprehension and confusion. Shanks, on the other hand, wasn’t quite ready to meet all these new people and hid behind Roger’s leg, his hands gripping tightly to the raven haired man’s pant leg.

A few men refrained from stepping forward to meet the small redhead. One such individual being Wilson, who remained at his spot by the crates of inventory he had been counting with a calculating look on his face, likely trying to figure out how much more food they were going to need to accommodate for the newest mouth he had to feed. Another was Rayleigh, who quickly noticed that Kelly, as well as Duran, one of the lookouts, weren’t so quick to step forward like the rest of the crew. The first mate would quickly realize that it was because the two men were watching something in the direction of port. 

"There's a red-haired girl watching the ship" the gunman stated softly when he noticed Rayleigh’s attention had shifted to him.

"I've seen her. She’s been standing there for quite a while now, hasn’t she?" Rayleigh comments, eyeing the young woman out of the corner of his eye.

Kelly nods. "Ya, but she doesn't feel dangerous. She’s just… watching, and mostly Captain and the kid at that." 

Rayleigh hums, glancing at his Captain, who was busy trying to coax Shanks out from behind his leg to meet everyone. "Captain's seen her but isn't doing anything. Keep an eye on her, though. As long as she's not a threat, leave her be." 

Kelly nods. "Aye Aye, Ray." 

Rayleigh expanded his observational haki out to get a read on the girl. She was young, very young from the sound of her Voice, and true to Kelly’s observation, she seemed to just be watching, her Voice muddled with conflicting feelings of guilt, but also relief? Odd…. 

“You think she’s the mother?” Crocus asks, coming up behind Rayleigh to take a look at the young woman currently observing the ship.

“The resemblance is definitely there, and I can’t think of any other reason why a young woman would be gazing out at a pirate ship looking like that, but I don’t think Roger’s the father, if that was your next question” Rayleigh says, shifting his gaze toward Shanks, who was currently peeking out from behind Roger’s leg to eye the encroaching crewmen curiously.

Crocus casts a confused glance at the first mate. “Really? You think so? Well then what other reason would Roger bring a kid onto the ship for if it wasn’t his?”

“Who the hell knows why Roger does anything he does, but I can say with absolute certainty that if that girl’s the mother, then he’s definitely not the father. Roger will fuck just about anybody: women, men, Merfolk, Giants, and whatever else; you name it, he’ll happily put his dick in it, but he’s always been weird about age, especially as we got older, he doesn’t like it when they’re ‘too young’, as he puts it” Rayleigh explains.

Crocus furrows his brows in confusion. “Too young? She doesn’t look too young to me. Maybe a little skinny and in need of a good cleaning up, but she looks grown. I certainly wouldn’t mind a night with a beauty like her.”

“You and me both” Rayleigh says with a slight grin, “but you and I aren’t Roger, and while he can be pretty unpredictable 98% of the time, this is something I can say with confidence. That girl’s too young for him as she is now, and she definitely would have been too young for him back during the time they would have had to be together in order to end up with our little red headed friend over there. There’s no way in hell Roger’s the biological father of this kid.”

“What about adopted father?” Crocus asks with a knowing grin and a cocked eyebrow.

Rayleigh sighs. “Now that’s another story, and one I feel like we already know the ending to” the first mate says, watching with a mixture of exasperated amusement as Shanks steps ever so slightly out from behind Roger to get a better look at the crew, who eyed him with an equal amount of curiosity. 

Rayleigh snorts and shakes his head as half the crew jump back in fright when Shanks makes a grab for their boots and, more importantly, one of the many hidden knives they just so happened to store in said boots. Rayleigh can already feel a headache coming on, and it wasn’t even lunch time yet. Was it too early to start drinking? 

Shanks’ sudden pout over being denied access to the other men’s boots quickly gathered the attention of most of the crew, as they attempted to distract the young boy from easily reached weapons. Food seemed to do the trick just fine. So did lifting the small boy up and running in circles around the main deck

Rayleigh knew better than to question why. The Crew had a tendency to mirror Roger’s unpredictability and randomness, and apparently having a kid around only encouraged those childish behaviors. 

Rayleigh briefly takes note of the red haired women turning and walking away from the docks before stepping forward and heading into the chaotic fray, looking to formally introduce himself to the new Apprentice. Rayleigh might not have anticipated becoming an uncle when he woke up this morning, but he’s long since learned to roll with the punches. He's always been so much better than Roger at introductions anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter of Shanks joining the crew. This was such a fun chapter to edit and help write and I honestly love getting to write our favorite red head’s origin story, as well as the beginning of Roger’s journey in adopting every child he comes across. Very cute, very simple chapter for a very cute very simple fic. This was originally only going to be 2 chapters but it looks like theyre end up being 3 just because we have a few more loose ends to tie up before we finish. As I’ve mentioned previously, this fic wouldn’t be possible without the incredible work of my co-author Dragowolf, who is such an amazing person to work with so please make sure to give her lots of love and thank for her all this adorableness!!! Anyways, thank you all so much for reading, i really appreciate it, and i hope to see you all soon for chapter 3. Bye!!! <3


	3. Midnight Musings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter. Enjoy!

Only a few short days had passed since the recruitment of Shanks to the ranks of the Roger pirates, and Roger finds himself outside on the main deck enjoying a brief moment of peace while watching the shrinking view of port as his ship once again sets sail for their next adventure. Their stop at this island had lasted longer than originally planned, but that was to be expected when you consider that getting all of the necessary items to raise a kid took a little bit. At last they had enough supplies for the time being. 

Roger and Rayleigh were both pleased that the Marines didn’t show up looking to cause trouble. As much as Roger likes a fight, having Shanks on board with them changed quite a few things. By the sea, does it change a few things! The kid was a little ball of curious energy. It didn’t even take the toddler a single night to have the entire crew completely wrapped around his little finger. Despite that however, it was definitely a new experience adjusting to life with a toddler on board the ship. 

Bryan, who had previously held the title of ‘youngest crew member’ at age 18, had taken almost a full month to settle in with the rest of the crew and fully adjust to life at sea after being brought on board, and even then the boy had been a whole 16 years old when the Rogers first recruited him. Although 16 was still quite young by many people’s standards, it was nowhere near as young as 3, so needless to say the jump from dealing with a teenager to toddler was considerable and would no doubt take quite a bit of time for everyone to get used to. For one thing, finding places to safely store weapons away from curious little hands had led to some creative solutions, which was good considering that those same curious little hands were also very stubborn and ready to try and open anything they could reach, no matter how likely they were to hurt him.

Despite the minor panics and major adjustments that were having to be made in order to accommodate their new charge, Roger won’t trade any of the headaches and heart attacks for the world. Never. Shanks was a Blessing from the Sea as far as Roger, and most of the crew, were concerned, and now that he was an Apprentice to the Rogers, the crew was more than ready to make sure he learned everything they could teach him. 

Sudden movement on the port distracted Roger from his musings, and upon closer inspection, Roger could make out a familiar flash of red even with the growing distance. It was the girl, Shanks’ mother, back once again for… some reason. But what on earth was she doing out here so late at night? Surely she had better places to be now that she didn’t have to worry about selling herself to care for herself and her child.

  
Roger’s eyes widened as he watched the young woman toss a bottle into the water. The raven haired man didn’t need to see the bottle clearly to know that it was rum. Rum for a Bribe, as the old saying goes. The girl has just given Davy Jones a Bribe of Rum to make sure he held Roger to his Promise. 

Well well, the girl knew more about the Old Ways than he thought, more than most men did nowadays, at least. The raven haired man briefly wondered where she could have learned about them, then again he supposed it didn’t really matter, since the only important thing was that this girl was doing everything she could to make sure that Roger kept his promise, and for that, he felt nothing but respect for her. Roger had already sworn by Davy Jones and his hat that he would take care of Shanks, and while Roger was many things, a Promise Breaker certainly wasn’t one of them. Then again, he supposed he couldn't blame the girl for being distrustful of him.

“What are you looking at?” a voice asked from behind Roger, which the raven haired man immediately recognized as belonging to Rayleigh. The raven haired man turned to see his First Mate walking over to him, his eyes widening in delight at the sight of the two mugs held in the blonde’s hands. 

“Oh, brought me some rum, have you? You’re too kind” Roger coos, extending his hand to take the mug Rayleigh had offered him.   
  
“It’s tea, you lugnut” Rayleigh snorts.   
  
“With Rum?”   
  
“Brandy. Rum doesn’t belong anywhere near tea.” 

Roger laughed and took a sip, relishing in the warm and flavorful beverage. “What about Pirate Tea?” 

“That’s completely different and you know it. Not to mention that you still haven’t answered my question. What the hell are you looking at?” Rayleigh asks, looking out toward port when Roger tilts his head in that direction. 

“Isn’t that...?” the blonde trails off, noticing Shanks’ mother standing on that edge of the docks, in almost the same spot she’d occupied earlier that day.   
  


Roger nods “She just threw an entire bottle of rum into the sea.” 

Rayleigh gave a low whistle. “Well, shit, Captain, if you were entertaining any thoughts of breaking that Promise you made, I would recommend rethinking them, because not only would you have an outright mutiny on your hands, but you’d also have a Kami coming after you’re stupid ass. Even you wouldn’t be able to backflip your way out of that clusterfuck.” 

Roger laughs. “Good to know the crew have taken so well to our little Shanks.” 

Rayleigh chuckles lightly. “Ya. He’s got the entire lot of them wrapped around his finger.” 

Roger hummed and glanced at Rayleigh out of the corner of his eye, noticing that the blonde clearly had something else on his mind he’d like to ask. 

“Spit it out Ray.”   
  


Rayleigh remained quiet for a moment before finally speaking. “Why didn’t you bring the mother too? You brought the kid but not her.”   
  
Roger swallows some of his tea and places his mug on the railing before answering.

“Just didn’t seem to be her way, I guess. It just….” Roger trailed off for a brief moment, trying to come up with the words to explain what he was thinking. “She wasn’t meant to sail with us Ray. I could have brought her with us, and I’m sure she would have loved the sea and all it had to offer. I could tell that much just from her Voice, but… we aren’t her crew… we aren’t part of her path. Her Voice cries out for something different, something we couldn’t offer, not right now anyways. Even so, I made sure to leave her more than enough to get back on her feet and start over.” 

“She’s given a sackful of money and the first thing she does is buy rum for a Bribe.” Rayleigh comments. 

Roger chuckles. “That she did. Say what you will about the girl Ray, but she did her best. Shanks will always be her son deep down, I can’t and won’t take that from her, but now she can live a much better life, and so can he. On top of that it seems that both Davy Jones and apparently my own Crew will make sure I help Shanks thrive just like I Promised, not that I needed the encouragement.”

Rayleigh smirks “No, we’re more than aware that you don’t need any encouragement to keep your Promise. Shanks is our Apprentice now, and we wouldn’t trade that for anything.” 

Roger nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “Speaking of our fine young Apprentice, can I guess that you being here means you finally caught the kid? Or is one of our nakama still down there chasing him?”   
  
Rayleigh groans and rolls his eyes, though the smile that spreads across his lips betrays his amusement toward the situation. “That brat! He’s been running around naked below deck every since we tried to give him a bath earlier today. What is his obsession with running around naked? It’s not even that warm down there.” 

“Are you annoyed that he’s running around naked or that he’s leaving a trail of water and bubbles?” 

“The trail, I suppose. The naked part is easily solved since he’ll want clothes as soon as he gets cold, but the mess he leaves in his wake as he runs off in the middle of his bath will take all night to clean up!” 

Roger laughs and not even a second later Rayleigh joins him. Both men recall a squealing little boy running around the ship as several crew members rush to try to catch him. The rest were either busy with work or laughing at the impromptu game of catch. Something told Roger that chasing after a wet, soapy Shanks any time the kid needed a bath was going to become a reoccurring event. 

At this rate, Roger was going to need to invest in a camera so that he can capture the absolute hilarity of situations like this for future entertainment. 

Rayleigh hums, “Having a kid on board is going to change a lot of things, Captain.”   
  


Roger nods “Indeed it will, but not bad changes. We’re definitely gonna need to stick to the Blues for a little while longer than we originally expected, at least until the kid’s old enough to handle himself. Not a horrible thing, especially since there’s lots to explore and do around these parts. And with Shanks around I don’t see us being bored.” 

“With the kid around boredom might be a thing of the past.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing!” Roger teases.

Rayleigh rolls his eyes and drains his cup, “Some of us like the occasional peace and quiet.”   
  
“Some of us are a little weird” Roger says, giving Rayleigh a sideways glance.   
  


Rayleigh grins. “Glad we can agree on something, Roger.” 

Both men look over when they hear a loud squeal followed by a flurry of voices calling after the boy. 

“Seems like the kid’s gotten himself into something.” Rayleigh sighs.  
  
“Seems like it. But it sounds like he’s got minders keeping an eye on the situation. No screams for Captain yet” Roger says, bringing his mug to his lips and taking a long drink from it. 

“Still wouldn’t hurt to go and see what it was all about.”   
  
“Nope. Wouldn’t hurt one bit.” Roger says, setting his mug down on the ground before getting up from his seat and following Rayleigh below deck. He gives the port one last look over his shoulder. At their current distance the raven haired man could no longer make out whether Shanks’ mother was still standing at the dock, but Roger knew she was still there, watching as they sailed away with her child in tow. 

Roger silently asked the Wind and Waves to send good fortune and reassurance to the girl. Heavens knew she needed it. 

Little did the raven haired man know that his prayer would be answered handily, as the young girl who Roger had once met in an alley would go on to make a name for herself as Scarlett, one of the greatest alcohol distillers the world had ever seen, known throughout the seas for her beauty, charm, and delectable alcoholic products. 

Despite never speaking much of her past life, every year on a certain red-haired child’s birthday, Scarlett would give a bottle of her finest rum to Davy Jones as a Bribe. A Bribe to look after the little boy she gave into the keep of a sailor, who she later learned was the famous pirate captain Gol D. Roger. 

Roger might never learn that the little girl followed newspaper articles about him and his crew, and then Shanks’ crew years later once he finally set out to forge his own path in the world. He might also never know of her surprise and delight when she noticed the hat that Roger had made a promise on so many years ago appeared on top of the head of another boy’s head. Another promise made in Davy Jones’ name.

Roger might never learn any of these things, and Shanks might not either, it’s honestly hard to say; but Davy Jones knows. Davy Jones knows that Shanks ended up on a crew that loved him like flesh and blood and taught him all he needed to know to thrive as a pirate, giving him a start on his path to becoming a Yonko many years down the road. The Captain and his crew raised a fine Apprentice, and many more on top of that, but those stories are for another time. For now, Captain Gol D. Roger and his crew have a lot to learn in the noble art of child rearing, but they are happy and more than ready to do so, if it means being there for their beloved Shanks. 

And to think that this whole thing started from a Promise made on a hat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another fic finished and in the bag! I cant even begin to thank my co-author DragowolfAK enough for writing this fic! It turned out so amazing and I absolutely love it to pieces. Tbh my Rouge fic is kind of bogging me down at the moment, I know where I want the fic to go but im just not 100% sure how to get there and writing that fic kind of takes a lot out of me and prevent me from writing other fics I want to write at the same time. I am enjoying the rouge fic and I definitely plan on finishing it before I write anymore super big or important fics, but having someone else write a few fics definitely helps take some of the burden off of me and frees up my list of fics to write a great deal, so I am very grateful that she was willing to do that for me with this fic, as well as a few others that will be coming your way very very soon! As of right now im not really sure if Ill be able to commit to posting regularly in the same way i was able to in the past, but I definitely would like to start getting back onto a semi-consistent posting schedule, if only so that I can force myself to finish the rouge fic and finally move on to something else for a change. It’ll definitely be difficult, especially since i also have school and work and other obligations that sometimes take my attention away from writing, but in order for me to write all the fics i want to write in this AU, I have to get my butt in gear and finish up this one so that I can move on to the plethora of others. Having Dragowolf help with these fics has also been what has jumpstarted my creativity a little bit, so you’ll probably be seeing more fics from her in the coming future too, so get excited for that. Overall Ive been struggling with creative block for the better part of like a year now, and Im really sick and tired of not being able to write as much as I could before, so rather than waiting around for my creativity to come back, im gonna give forcing myself to write via soft deadlines a try and see if that does anything. It’s been working pretty well so far, so here’s hoping that it’ll continue working in the future and I can start getting chapters and fics out to you guys at a little faster of a rate. Anyways thank you all so much for reading, you have no idea how much it means that people read and like my stories, its so incredible and i will be forever grateful to everyone who has ever left a comment or a kudos encouraging me to continue. Thank you all very much for supporting me, and I hope to see you all very soon in whatever chapter for this AU goes up next. Bye!!! <3


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